Tuesday, March 16, 2010

When you start networking knowing that networking is all about building relationships, and only secondarily to sell products and services, your focus will be on what you can do for the people you meet rather than what they can do for you.

This means you have something valuable to offer the people you meet. Some information to solve a problem or answer a question that you are able to provide them without expecting immediate reward. Over time, you will build credibility as someone who truly cares about other people, is trustworthy, and reliable. That’s when you begin to reap the benefits.

Building an effective network of qualified contacts takes time, and requires making an upfront investment in other people without immediate return. Your first contact with a prospective customer is not the occasion to make a ‘sales pitch’ or attempt to impress him or her with your qualification, experience and what you can do. It is an occasion to gather information.

Ask about the business the other person is engaged in, ask if you can stay in touch, and actually follow up the next day with a note or a phone call referring to few of the things you discussed the day before, with an offer that he subscribes to your free newsletter or blog. Keep in touch at least once a week with useful information touching on problems he mentioned in your discussion, and how you could help.

The quality of the free information you provide your prospective customers will determine whether they become actual customers in the near future, and that in turn, depends on how attentive you were during your discussion and how much of the detail you are able to recall. Therefore, immediately after the discussion and you have parted with your contact, write down the problems he talked about while it is still fresh in your mind.

It may take a while before someone you met the first time at a trade show or an informal gathering to respond positively to your correspondence. It may well be that he already has a company handling the problem he talked about, or is waiting to get additional information from you about your company before making the switch. It may also be that he has a contract with another company and must wait until the contract ends before doing business with your company.

For these reasons don’t get discouraged if things do not happen as quickly as you expect. Your focus should be on learning all you can about your prospective customers line of business, the effect of new technology on the business, future trends, and how you could be helpful in solving their existing or future problems.

The temptation to start networking by trying to meet and give your business card to as many people as you can find is hard to resist. Instead, aim for quality contacts, meaning spending more time developing relationships with people who have shown interest in your line of business. It is better to have few contacts who respond to your letters or phone calls than to have a large number who do not.

The benefit of having quality contacts is that everyone you meet knows on average 250 people. Your initial goal in networking is not to get the people you meet to become your customers, but to become part of their network, and for them to become part of yours. Every positive impression you make on a quality contact puts you in reach of potentially another 250 people, who in turn, will put you in reach of potentially tens of thousands other people. The trick is to keep in touch with your contacts, and be a resource they can rely on.

Networking has become an important part of every sales strategy, but many have failed at it because they began networking initially to sell products, rather than selling themselves. When you can sell yourself to the satisfaction of your prospective customers, they will trust and respect you, and that in turn, will translate into purchase of the products you recommend or sell.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Let face it, the size of our bodies is determined by the type and quantity of food we eat, and only secondarily and to a lesser degree by genetic. If you want to maintain a healthy weight, controlling the type and quantity of food you eat is your best chance.

All food and beverages have calories, which are units of food energy. By the metabolic process, the body converts calories to energy to fuel cellular and muscular activities, to eliminate toxins and unnecessary nutrients in the form of waste, and to store glucose from carbohydrates as glycogen in the muscle and liver for future use.

Beyond a certain level, though, excess calories that are not used up by cellular and muscular activities are stored as body fat. When body fat is not burnt off by vigorous physical exercise, it accumulates overtime, and becomes the source of our overweight and obesity problems.

Everybody has a family member or friend who eats any food he or she desires, yet is not overweight. Well, some people are genetically predisposed to remaining slim, regardless of what they eat. But even with such people, once over 40 they begin putting on some weight in the face, although their bodies remain slim. Unfortunately, the majority of people are not that lucky, and must be watchful of what they eat.

And there lies the problem. Many of us have difficulty controlling what we eat because foods and beverages are simply delicious and irresistible, not to mention the subliminal effects of thousands of advertisements seducing us to buy them. For relief with their overweight problems many have turned to weight loss supplements, dieting and the gym, but have largely been disappointed because the failure rate there is over 90%.

There is no weight loss system, except natural weight loss, that can permanently reduce your weight to a healthy level. The reason is that weight loss systems such as dieting and weight loss pills only reduce the water content of your body and give you a false sense of weight reduction, but once you stop using them, as many people tend to do after a while, the weight will come back with a vengeance.

Some weight loss supplements can provide the body with the necessary nutrients, and cut back on food craving when accompanied with at least two sensible meals a day. But the effectiveness of weight loss supplement depends on how much of it the body can absorb. The less the body is able to absorb the less the supplement will provide the nutrients the body needs to maintain a healthy weight.

Physical exercise is another natural way to reduce weight, but unless you are physically able to exercise vigorously for more than an hour everyday, you will burn only the glycogen in your muscle and leave the body fat untouched. This is because the muscle always has stored glycogen for activity, and only when that is used up will the muscle begin converting body fat to energy. Consequently, a 30 to 45 minutes physical exercise is not going to use up the muscles glycogen to begin reducing body fat. However, in itself, physical exercise is useful for blood circulation, which is a plus for maintaining good health.

The most effective and sustainable way to reduce overweight and keep it off is to change your eating habits regarding the type and quantity of food you eat. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables every day. But owing to bulk you cannot eat enough of those to get the required daily nutrients your body needs. Get a juicer and extract the juice from the fruits and vegetables. The juice is both delicious and chuck-full of nutrients. When you need a snack choose a fruit, instead of processed and semi-processed snacks.

Along with the fruits and vegetables eat two sensible meals daily. If you must eat fish, poultry or meat, eat it broiled, steamed or in soups. Stay away from fried or processed animal flesh, sugar and salt. The point here is to gradually change what you eat until it becomes a habit and a lifestyle you can keep for the rest of your life. This way you are able to maintain a healthy weight without starving yourself, or constantly craving for food.

To be sure that you are loosing weight consistent with your age, body type and health condition; consult with your doctor before starting any weight loss program.